Fighting for You (10 page)

Chapter Eleven

Ella knew she had a ridiculous “I had sex this morning” smile on her face when she walked in the lobby at Danvers International, but she couldn’t seem to help it. She had spent another night with Declan and he had woken her in the most delicious way. Her body was still tingling from the thrill of that oh-so-heavenly tongue of his. She felt herself blush at the memory of her wanton response. She was pretty sure the neighbors must have heard her screams of pleasure. She’d never really imagined that she would be that . . . vocal, but she found it impossible to control herself and Declan loved it.

“It looks like someone finally got laid.”

Ella whirled around with a guilty look to see a smirking Suzy. “I . . . ugh . . . what?”

“Oh come on Snow White, you don’t have to hide it from me. There is only one thing that has a woman high-stepping that much before nine in the morning. Declan finally tapped it, huh?”

“Tapped?”

“Yeah, sorry. Gray says I’m picking up too much gangster lingo from watching reality shows. You and Declan slept together, no?”

There was no way she could lie to Suzy, who claimed to have a built-in bullshit detector—and Ella had seen it in action before. Besides, she wasn’t like her family. Instead of being horrified, she would be proud. She found herself literally bouncing on her heels as she nodded her head and said, “Yes, yes!”

Suzy threw her arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. “Atta girl, way to go. Since you look so happy, I assume he took care of you?”

She could feel herself starting to turn a darker shade of crimson. “It was wonderful. I never knew . . . wow!”

Suzy laughed, “Wow is right. I’m happy for you kid, you deserve it. Just hang on and enjoy the ride.”

When Beth walked up to them, she took one look at Ella and tears started to fall. “You did it! Oh, I can’t believe this. I want to hear all about it.”

Shaking her head, Suzy handed her sister a tissue. “Oh, don’t start leaking all over the place again. Is there anything you don’t cry over now?”

Beth accepted the tissue with a smile. “I started crying last night when I made Nick take me to McDonald’s. I just wanted a small hamburger and then I saw the sign saying the McRib was back. Nick was horrified. He kept stuffing napkins in my face trying to dry me up while the cashier looked at him like he was denying me food.”

Suzy tried hard to maintain her look of disgust, but Ella could see the smile playing around the edges of her lips. It was obvious even through her tough exterior that she loved her sister. How nice would it have been if she and Crystal had grown up with that type of relationship? They were barely more than polite strangers most of the time. Other than Crystal’s uncharacteristic display of normalcy when she was ogling Declan, she had never been able to understand or relate to her sister.

Ella waved when she saw Claire and a pretty blonde walk toward their group. She hoped that no one mentioned her recent sexual encounter around the stranger. “Good morning, everyone,” Claire smiled. After putting a hand out to indicate the woman beside her, she continued, “I wanted you all to meet my good friend, Julie. We um . . . used to work together.” Claire finished the introductions and luckily didn’t mention anything personal in front of Julie. “Julie has the most precious little boy and tomorrow is his birthday so Auntie Claire has a present for him. Julie and I are going to go on up so I can grab it. Talk to you guys later.” With Claire’s departure, the rest of the group headed toward the bank of elevators.

Ella waved to Beth and Suzy as she stopped at her desk and they continued down the hall. Declan had promised to bring her a coffee later on and she couldn’t wait to sneak a brief moment with him. On her mental wish list beside ‘have a hot man bring you coffee’ she placed a check mark and giggled quietly to herself. Yep, it was going to be a good day.

***

Declan was walking down the corridor of Danvers in an unusually good mood. He’d even caught himself whistling during his morning commute. To say this wasn’t his usual Monday morning demeanor would be an understatement. Hell, this was never his mood, morning or not. He had spent the whole weekend with Ella and had broken about every rule he had concerning a woman. After having her with him all night, he thought he might have even found the cure for the nightmares that had plagued him since leaving the service. The only uncertainty that niggled his mind was about when his feet were going to be knocked out from under him. If there was one thing life had taught him, it was that with every good thing that happens, five bad ones are usually waiting around the corner to bite you in the ass. He had his answer on the first bad thing when Claire and a vaguely familiar attractive woman walked toward him.

“Good morning, Declan,” Claire smiled warmly, “How are you?” He was so busy trying to piece together where he knew the woman at her side, that he barely uttered a reply. From the look on the blonde’s face, he knew he wasn’t imaging things. He knew her from somewhere and she damn sure seemed to know him. “Let me introduce you to my good friend. Declan Stone, this is Julie Nelson, Julie this is Declan.”

Julie continued to stare at him as if in shock before finally uttering, “Declan?” He was still wracking his brain trying to make the connection that Julie had obviously already made. The only thing he was sure of was that he had had sex with her. He wasn’t proud of it, but one-night stands had been the norm for him when he was in the military. Pretty much anytime he had returned home, he had found a hotel room and a willing body to share it with, at least for a few hours. Even though she didn’t look like the type to indulge in quick hook-ups, he had to figure that was how they knew each other.

He finally just decided to throw a general reply out there and hope it was enough to save her feelings. Asking how they knew each other was probably not a great thing. “It’s nice to see you,” he said.

When Claire gave them both a confused look and asked if they knew each other, he stayed silent, hoping Julie would answer. “Yeah,” she murmured quietly, “we met briefly several years ago.” Well, that answered that question. She had pretty much admitted what he thought to be true. Giving him a nervous look that made him start to sweat, she asked, “Do you have time for cup or coffee or something?”
Oh fuck. There’s no way we’re taking a trip down memory lane, lady, no matter how attractive you are.
As he started to decline, she stepped forward and grasped his arm. “Please Declan, it’s important.”

Well hell, despite himself, he was intrigued. He had no interest in her sexually, but he was damned curious about the desperation he saw in her eyes. Just what was going on here? Was he wrong about how they knew each other? She wasn’t acting like a woman trying to entice him, she just looked scared. Claire’s head was going back and forth between them with her mouth hung open as if in shock. She seemed to be at a loss for words and he knew just how that felt. “I’ve got some conference calls that I can’t miss this morning, but if you’re free around noon, I can meet you at Meg’s Sandwich Shoppe around the corner.”

Julie nodded eagerly looking strangely relieved. “Thank you, that would be great. I’ll be there.” Declan was relieved when Claire turned toward Jason’s office and Julie followed along with her. What. In. The. Hell! He walked toward his own office determined to remember just who she was. Something was off there and he planned to find out what it was exactly.

***

Ella felt the dreamy glow that she had lost to her hectic morning of work return when Declan came striding toward her desk with her promised cup of coffee. He was so sexy. Just looking at him made her want to start panting. “Good morning again, Ellie,” he rasped in that deep voice that sent shivers down her spine.

Looking around to make sure they were alone for the moment, she whispered, “Good morning yourself, handsome. How is your day going?”

“Strange,” he replied, but waved away her concern when she started to ask why.

Giving him a smile of encouragement, she asked, “Rough morning?”

“Just the usual. How about you?”

She was pretty sure by his distracted manner that there was something he wasn’t saying, but she decided to leave it for now. All of the magazines said that once she had a man, she shouldn’t nag him or try to change him. She was determined to adhere to that advice. She liked him just the way he was, and things were too new between them for her to push when he so obviously didn’t want to talk about whatever had thrown his day off. “Do you want to grab some lunch today?” she offered.

Was it her imagination or was he actually fidgeting? “Ur . . . no, I can’t today, Ellie. I’ve got a lunch meeting. How about dinner this evening though?” Why did she feel like he had just thrown her a consolation prize with his dinner offer? She didn’t know what had gotten into him since she left his place this morning, but he was acting weird. Surely he wasn’t already regretting sleeping with her?

She gave him a smile of apology when her phone started ringing. With a light brush against her arm and another distracted smile, he was gone.

***

Jason Danvers looked up as his office door burst open and his wife walked in. Even though she no longer worked as his assistant, she had agreed to relieve Jean for the week so that she could visit her daughter in Ohio. He looked forward to having her here, but he also knew his concentration would be out the window. Whenever Claire was near, she had his complete attention. He looked longingly at the plush sofa in the corner of his office and wished he didn’t have a meeting scheduled in ten minutes. “Hey, baby, has Julie gone?” Claire had met Julie Nelson when she was working for Partiez Plus. He still couldn’t believe his somewhat shy wife used to jump out of cakes at bachelor parties. He only liked to see those moves in private now. Julie had worked there part-time as a bartender while putting herself through nursing school. She had quit a few months after Claire had left, saying it wasn’t the same without her friend.

Not bothering with the chair in front of his desk, she walked straight to him and settled in his lap. Formality was a thing of the past with them. “Yeah, she just left. I witnessed the strangest encounter in the hallway on the way here though and I can’t figure out what’s going on.”

Pushing the hair back from her face, Jason kissed the tip of her nose and asked, “Who was Suzy torturing?”

Claire elbowed him lightly laughing. “It wasn’t Suzy this time. She only tortures the people in maintenance, by the way. It was between Julie and Declan.”

“He’s never been the most talkative person so it’s not unexpected that he wouldn’t stick around long for small talk, babe.”

Waving him off, she said, “No, it’s not that. It was the fact that he did stick around. They know each other somehow. She looked like she had seen a ghost and he seemed to be trying to piece something together. She asked to meet him later and he agreed. Does that sound like Declan to you?”

Jason raised an eyebrow in surprise. “No, it definitely doesn’t. Isn’t he involved with Ella now?”

“From the look on her face this morning, I would say they are very involved. I don’t think Julie asked him to get together to hit on him though. I didn’t get that vibe. Besides, she’s engaged to Graham and is the happiest I have ever seen her. I think there’s something else going on there. I asked her how she knew him before she left and she mumbled something about going to school with him which was obviously a lie.”

Sighing, Jason said, “Well, I hope Ella doesn’t get hurt. This is why so many companies have policies against dating in the workplace, but that would be a bit pot and kettle of me wouldn’t it?”

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Claire laughed softly. “Yep, it sure would. If I hadn’t been your assistant, we might have never met.”

Jason stroked the curve of his wife’s beautiful face and said, “I’d have found you, never doubt that. It would just have taken longer.” As he pulled her into a kiss, he idly wondered which meeting that afternoon he could cancel. Once you had children, you never missed an opportunity for some alone time with your wife. “Could you cancel my one o’clock?”

Chapter Twelve

Declan walked around the corner from the office to meet Julie for lunch. Other than being sure he had slept with her, he was no closer to remembering exactly where and when. There had been far too many occasions when he had drank too much with the guys, and then found a willing woman to chase away a few hours with. It hadn’t been any time in recent memory though. It was sheer curiosity that had brought him here to meet her.

He should have gone with his first inclination and blown her off. Ella’s polite manner seemed to be rubbing off on him. Remembering the strange looks she had been shooting him earlier, he knew she had picked up on his preoccupation. He felt guilty like he was cheating on her, which was absurd. He had no interest in the woman he was meeting and he had made no promises to Ella. Even as he thought it, though, he knew that with a woman like Ella, the first time he had slept with her had been a promise of sorts. He would just get this over with and move on. He sincerely hoped that Claire didn’t mention anything to her.

As he walked in the door and scanned the tables, he saw Julie tentatively wave to him from a back table in the corner. He pasted on a polite smile that he was far from feeling and made his way over to her. “Nice to see you again, Julie.”
Ah hell, Ella really was getting to him. Next he would be asking her about the weather. Get to the point, Stone!
Luckily, Julie seemed to read his mind and took a direct shot.

“You have no idea who I am, do you?”

“You look familiar, but no, I can’t place you. Should I?” Declan took a moment to study her reaction to his answer. She didn’t appear upset, just rather resigned. He’d have felt better if she had upended the water glass she had in front of her in his lap. Feminine outrage was easier to deal with.

Julie looked down at the hands she was twisting in her lap and appeared to be talking to them instead of him. “After the first two attempts, I never thought this day would come again. I had accepted that and put it down to fate. I never regretted it and, if anything, I owe you a huge debt of gratitude. Now that this moment is here, I don’t know where to begin.” Then, raising pleading eyes to his, she asked, “Should I just blurt it out, or do you want the whole story?”

What he really wanted was to get up and run like hell. His internal warning system was beeping loudly in alarm. Even though he had no desire to hear a long drawn-out story, he thought that he might need time to compose himself. “Just start at the beginning, whatever that might be.”

Julie took a deep breath and asked, “You did sort of recognize me this morning, right? You might not remember from where, but I look familiar?”

“Yeah, I’ll give you that. I’ve obviously met you before.”

After briefly closing her eyes, she opened them again and he could see the resolve there. Gone was the uncertainly of a few moments ago. Somehow, he preferred nervous Julie to the determined version looking him squarely in the eyes now.

“Declan, we met over five years ago at a party. I don’t even remember who was hosting it. I was there with a few friends and I believe you were there with some of your buddies from the military. You were all in uniform and had just gotten into town. I . . . I was in a bad place that night. My mom had been battling cancer for a year and had just passed away. My friends had insisted I get out of the house because they were worried about me. I reluctantly agreed to go to a party with them where I drank way too much and, um . . . met you.”

Declan scanned his memory vaguely remembering a few parties that he had attended over the years like the one she had described. Like Julie, he had drunk way too much at them and barely remembered the person or even persons that he ended up with for a few hours. “If you were that drunk, how do you even remember what I look like, much less my name? I wasn’t in the habit of giving out contact information back then.”

“We had sex that night, Declan, and then both passed out. When I woke up the next morning, you were still out. I got dressed as quietly as I could, just wanting to get out of there before you woke up. When I was picking up my clothes, I saw your wallet lying on the floor beside them. I picked it up with the intention of putting it back in your pocket before it was lost. Out of curiosity, I opened it just so that I could say I at least knew the name of the man I had slept with. Your military ID was in there. Your name is rather unusual so it was hard to forget.”

Swiping an impatient hand through his hair, Declan asked, “So this entire covert meeting is just a trip down memory lane? If you’re looking to appease your conscience over having a one-night stand, honey, you’ve come to the wrong place. I’ve got enough shit of my own to wade through. It happened, it’s fine, now move past it. I have.” He rose to his feet and threw some bills down on the table intending to finally put an end to this awkward meeting.

Julie sprang to her feet and clutched his arm. “Wait! You have a son! Oh God, I’m sorry to blurt that out, but I owe it to Evan to try.” Then he was aware that she kept talking, but he couldn’t hear past the roaring in his ears. He hadn’t felt this shell-shocked since he left active duty in Afghanistan. Julie finally took mercy on him and pulled him back down in his chair.

Even though he knew in his gut that she wasn’t lying, he couldn’t stop himself from snapping, “No fucking way, lady. I always use protection.”

“Well, if you can remember all of the details of that night then you are doing better than I am. Before you even make your next comment let me say that, I . . . hadn’t been with a man since my mom got sick so you were it, Declan. Even if I were in doubt, which I’m not, there is no question that Evan is your son. He is the spitting image of you. I had no idea how much until I saw you again walking down the hall this morning. If was like looking at an older version of my son . . . your son. Um . . . are you alright?”

He knew from the concern in her voice, that he must look as green as he felt. He had a
son
? How in the hell had that happened? Men like him didn’t usually have kids and the ones who did would never be father of the year. Even though he felt the urge to puke, he was surprised at how well he was holding up considering the enormity of Julie’s confession. Without saying a word, he signaled for the waitress and ordered a double scotch, neat. He rarely drank during the day, but this was no ordinary lunch. Julie wisely waited until his drink was delivered and he had thrown it back before speaking.

“Do you um . . . need some time to process this? I know it’s a lot to drop on you. Just let me say that I don’t want anything from you, Declan. I have supported my son since he was born and I will continue to do so. I just didn’t want to miss this opportunity for Evan to know his father even if it’s in very small measures.”

“If you knew my name and that I was in the military, why didn’t you try to contact me?”

Julie’s laugh held little humor. “Uncle Sam can be closemouthed. I tried to find out where you were stationed and an address, but I couldn’t get anywhere. I even had someone tell me that if the military gave contact information to every female who called in claiming to be pregnant, the bases would be overrun with female civilians trying to find men that usually didn’t want to be found. She followed up this helpful information by telling me that if you had wanted to speak to me again, you would have given me your address or number and that I should just give it up. After that, I decided that I needed to start making plans and stop trying to figure out how to find you. I just panicked when I found out and desperately needed some kind of support. Luckily, I have some pretty great friends who have been very helpful adopted aunts and uncles to Evan.”

Declan shook his head in disbelief before finally deflating on a loud sigh. “Julie, what are you looking for here? I know you claim not to want financial support, but what if that’s all I can offer you? I’ve hardly lived a lifestyle that you would want your son around, hell, you should know that. I’ve never even really been around kids except for the one that Jason and Claire keep shoving in my hands when I’ve had to stop by their house to pick up some contracts a few times. Truthfully, when that happens, I spend the next few minutes trying to hand her back.”

Julie threw back her head and laughed. “Chrissie is a baby, Declan, Evan is a bit different. He’s not likely to pee, poop or throw-up on you and he is getting too heavy for me to lift so you don’t have to worry about me shoving him into your arms. I’m not asking for any type of commitment from you. I just want you to see Evan once. Not as his father, but as a friend. I won’t tell him who you are unless you want that in the future. I’d never get him excited like that and then have you disappear. When and if he knows that you’re his father, it will be because you plan to take an active part in his life.” Holding up her hand to stop him, she added, “When I say active part, I mean with Evan only. I’m not looking for anything personally from you. I am engaged to a wonderful man, Graham, whom Evan loves as well.”

Declan surprised himself when he asked, “Do you have a picture with you?” Julie nodded and took her wallet from her purse. Her face softened as she looked at the photo before handing it to him. He felt a kick right to his gut as he studied the child in the picture. There was indeed a strong resemblance there and despite his best efforts, he felt a longing that he never would have thought he’d feel. Holding it up, he asked, “Can I keep this?”

Julie looked pleased by his question. “Of course. I would have brought more, but I had no idea . . .”

“Thanks. So what exactly did you have in mind as far as me, uh, meeting him?”

Sitting back in her seat, Julie expelled a breath and said, “Wow, I wasn’t expecting you to take it this well. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that you are, it’s just a bit surreal after all of this time. As far as seeing Evan, maybe you could meet us at McDonald’s. He loves the playground there and he wouldn’t question your presence as much as he would if you were to come to our house.”

“McDonald’s, huh? I’ve avoided the playground there like the plague my whole life,” Declan joked.
Was he in shock? Why was he still sitting there instead of running for his life?

Julie laughed, “I don’t think it’s the dream place of any adult, but you get used to it.”

Out of nowhere, Declan found himself asking, “Do you . . . would it be a problem if I brought someone with me?” For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why he had asked that question. Who was he going to ask? There was no way he could tell Ava or Brant. They would freak out and make things worse. That only left Ella and that seemed like too much to spring on someone you had just started seeing.
Hey, before we go out tonight, can we swing by McDonald’s and meet the son that I never knew I had?
If she was smart, she would take her chances and jump out of the moving car rather than continue on with him. But he knew he had to tell her if he expected this thing between them to continue for any length of time.

She looked surprised, “Sure. I guess I should have asked, are you married?”

Grimacing, he shook his head, “No, I’m not. I’m seeing someone though and I would like to bring her.” Seeing the hesitation on Julie’s face, he raised a brow and added, “Relax, she’s nothing like me. She’s a nice person and likes kids.”

“Oh . . . Okay. When would you like to meet? How about this weekend?”

“Why not tonight?” he countered. He hated to admit that he was afraid to have too much time to think. After he saw the child, he would be requesting a DNA test. She seemed sincere, but life had taught him that facts in black-and-white seldom lied, but people were another matter.

“I thought you would need more time. You’re actually taking this better than I would have expected. Are you sure you aren’t in shock?”

Declan smiled his first genuine smile of the strange meeting. “More than likely I am, but I’m not much for indecision. I need to see your son and I’d prefer it be sooner rather than later.” He could tell that she wasn’t entirely comfortable with his thinly veiled demand.

“Alright, but this is how I want to do it. Evan and I will be at McDonald’s at six in the playground area. I think it would be best if you came a little after that. I’ll introduce you as friends, although he is very bright and will probably wonder why I’ve never mentioned you before. Also, if you could buy food and have it with you, I think that would look less suspicious than you dropping in without eating. I’ll also need your date’s name so that I can introduce him to you both.”

Clearing his throat, he said, “It’s Ella Webber.”

“Evan will spend a lot of his time running around and playing so don’t expect him to sit down to talk for a long period,” Julie added fondly, “Plus, conversations at McDonald’s are a little difficult sometimes depending on how many kids are there.”

Declan said, “Yeah, I can only imagine. Will half past six give you enough time to get there and settle in?”

“That’s fine. Just remember, please, that we aren’t mentioning anything about who you are other than your name.”

Standing, he said, “I’ve got it.” He waited for Julie to stand and followed her out the door. “I’ll see you later.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned back toward Danvers International and knew that the rest of his day would be a total waste. How were you supposed to go back to business as usual when something like that was dropped in your lap? On the other hand, sitting around his apartment brooding about it wouldn’t do any good either. He’d go back to the office and get lost in work for the afternoon. He also needed to tell Ella what was going on this evening. He hoped that after, she would be willing to go with him to see his son . . . fuck, that was unreal to even think. Yet this was how things went in life. You were coasting on a good wave and the next minute you were spitting out dirt.

First, he needed to make sure that Evan was actually his and he would begin that step tonight. No need to look ahead until everything was confirmed. Possibly it would be better to wait until that happened before he told Ella, but he needed her tonight. She was always the calm to his storm and never had he craved that more than right now.